Ball cock for railway vehicle

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a ball cock for a railway vehicle which comprises a main body possessing a primary-side opening and a secondary-side opening which face one another and an air exhaust aperture which is formed between these openings. Such ball cock further includes a ball-shaped valve body which is rotatably provided inside such main body and in which there is formed a communication aperture which connects the primary side opening and the secondary-side opening and a side aperture which, consequent to its rotation, connects the air exhaust aperture and either the primary-side or secondary-side opening. There is formed in the main body&#39;s air exhaust aperture a pipe connection to which is be connected a restrictor. In another embodiment a extension pipe is connected to such pipe connection in such air exhaust aperture. Such pipe extension forms a bend portion which causes its opening surface to be positioned lower than a generally horizontal direction when, in accordance with the state in which the main body is fitted to a railway vehicle, its air exhaust aperture is positioned upwardly from such horizontal direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional Application of co-pending patentapplication Ser. No. 09/050,690, filed Mar. 30, 1998.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates, in general, to ball cock valves and, moreparticularly, this invention relates to a railway vehicle ball cockwhich is interposed in the air piping and related areas of a pneumaticbrake device which is mainly installed below the vehicle floor in arailway vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a railway vehicle, pressurized air from an air source is supplied viaair piping to pneumatic brake devices, air springs, automatic flapopening and closing devices and other such equipment. Ball cocks (3-waycocks) are provided in the abovementioned air piping for the purpose ofrepair and maintenance. A ball cock of this type is described in, forexample, the disclosure of Japanese Utility Model No. 6-23802. A ballcock of this type will be described with reference to FIGS. 7-10.

The main body of a ball cock consists of a first member and a secondmember, inside which an inner aperture is formed and which is detachablyconnected to the first member. A primary-side opening and asecondary-side opening, connected to respective air pipes (not shown),are formed in opposing locations in such first and second members,respectively.

An axial aperture which communicates with the inner aperture is formedin the upper portion of the second member, and an air exhaust apertureis formed in the lower portion of such first member. Valve seat carrierelements are installed via respective seal elements at the inner sidesof the primary-side opening and the secondary-side opening of the firstand second members, respectively. Valve seats, made of synthetic resin,are supported by valve seat carrier elements. Further, the valve seatssupport a ball-shaped valve body in the inner hole in a manner such thatit can rotate about a vertical axis. A plate spring is provided betweenthe first member and the valve seat carrier element, and it pushes thevalve seat to the valve body side.

A valve shaft is connected to the upper portion of the valve body, andthis valve shaft passes through the axial hole and is connected to astopper plate and a handle at the top of the second member. As shown inFIG. 9, the stopper plate has two engagement projections separated by anangle of 90 degrees. At the top of the first member there is formed astopper which can be engaged by one or the other of the engagementprojections consequent to rotation of the valve shaft of such valvebody.

In valve body there is opened a communication aperture which passeshorizontally through its central portion, and a side aperture whichpasses obliquely from one side portion of the valve body to the bottomportion. The central axis of the side aperture lies in a plane which isperpendicular to the communication aperture. In the state shown in FIG.7, the primary side-opening and the secondary-side opening are connectedvia the communication aperture, but when the valve body is turnedapproximately 90 degrees by means of handle, the pass-through statebetween the primary-side opening and the secondary-side opening is cutoff, and the secondary-side opening and the air exhaust aperture areconnected via the side aperture and the inner aperture, as shown in FIG.10, and thus exhaust of air from the secondary-side opening can beeffected.

However, air piping in which a ball cock, as described above, isprovided under the floor of a vehicle. Various types of equipment, aswell as a large number of air pipes, are also suspended below thisfloor. Therefore, since it is necessary to avoid interference with theseitems, sometimes a ball cock is mounted upside-down, in order that theair exhaust aperture is located at the upper surface in a verticaldirection of the ball cock, or it is mounted so that the air exhaustaperture is positioned in a horizontal direction.

If the installation is such that the air exhaust aperture is positionedhorizontally or at the top surface of the ball cock, there is a problemin that it is easy for rainwater, dirt or other foreign material topenetrate into the interior of the ball cock via the air exhaustaperture and so the valve seats, as well as other parts, are subject todamage by this rainwater, dirt or other foreign matter. When thishappens leakage of pressurized air from ball cock can occur. Further,since the diameter of the side aperture for exhaust of air is usually acomparatively large diameter of approximately 5 millimeters, there isalso the problem that when air is exhausted from the secondary-sideopening and through the side aperture, the air exhaust speed becomes toogreat, and thus it becomes difficult to ascertain the switching pressureof a pressure switch which is mounted on the air piping. Therefore, itbecomes difficult to regulate the air pressure in the air piping at thetime of air exhaust.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention provides a ball cock for a railway vehicle whichcomprises a main body possessing a primary-side opening and asecondary-side opening which face one another and an air exhaustaperture which is formed between these openings. Such ball cock furtherincludes a ball-shaped valve body which is rotatably provided insidesuch main body and in which there is formed a communication aperturewhich connects the primary side opening and the secondary-side openingand a side aperture which, consequent to its rotation, connects the airexhaust aperture and either the primary-side or secondary-side opening.There is formed in the main body's air exhaust aperture a pipeconnection to which is be connected a restrictor.

In another embodiment a extension pipe is connected to such pipeconnection in such air exhaust aperture. Such pipe extension forms abend portion which causes its opening surface to be positioned lowerthan a generally horizontal direction when, in accordance with the statein which the main body is fitted to a railway vehicle, its air exhaustaperture is positioned upwardly from such horizontal direction.

OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention toprovide a ball cock with which infiltration of rainwater, dirt or otherforeign material can be minimized regardless of the mounting position ofthe ball cock relative to the vehicle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ball cock whichcan restrict air exhaust speed so as to be better able to measureswitching pressure.

Also it is another object of the present invention to provide a ballcock which can be inexpensive to manufacture.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a ball cockwhich is compatible with existing equipment.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a ball cockwith a pipe extension which can be used in any mounting position.

In addition to the objects and advantages of the present invention whichhave been described above, various other objects and advantages of theball cock will become more readily apparent to those persons who areskilled in the relevant art from the following more detailed descriptionof the invention, particularly, when such description is taken inconjunction with the attached drawing figures and with the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a traverse section showing a ball cock in a first embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section of a ball cock showing the manner in whichair exhaust is effected in a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a traverse section of a ball cock in a second embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 4 is a traverse section of a ball cock showing a modification ofthe second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is traverse section of a ball cock in a third embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 6 is traverse section of a ball cock showing a fourth embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 7 is a vertical section of a ball cock showing a conventional priorart ball cock.

FIG. 8 is traverse section along the line VIII—VIII of the ball cock ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the ball cock shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a vertical section showing the manner in which air exhaust iseffected in the ball cock shown in FIG. 7.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED AND ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTSOF THE INVENTION

Prior to proceeding with the more detailed description of the presentinvention it should be noted that, for the sake of clarity, identicalcomponents which have identical functions have been designated byidentical reference numerals throughout the several views illustrated inthe drawings.

Reference is now made, more particularly, to FIG. 1. Illustrated thereinis a ball cock, generally designated B1. Ball cock B1 of this embodimenthas generally the same structure as the conventional example of a priorart ball cock shown in FIGS. 7-10, and so the reference numbers are alsoattached to corresponding parts and a repeated description will beomitted. Ball cock B1 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted in a normal positionbelow the floor of a vehicle, i.e., it is mounted in a manner such thatthe air exhaust aperture 24 is located at the lower surface. A pipeconnection 24 a constituted by a taper thread (taper internal thread)for a pipe is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the air exhaustaperture 24.

A restrictor 25 is screwed together with the pipe connection 24 a bymeans of an outer-periphery taper external thread 25 a, and arestriction passage 25 b is formed inside this restrictor 25. With thisball cock B1, as shown in FIG. 2, when the valve body 15 is rotated 90degrees and the secondary-side opening 6 and the side aperture 23 areconnected, pressurized air in the secondary-side opening 6 passesthrough the side aperture 23 and the inner aperture 3, and furtherpasses through the restrictor 25 in the air exhaust aperture 24 and isdischarged. In this case, since the speed of discharge of thepressurized air is reduced by the restriction passage 25 b, it is easyto ascertain the switching pressure of a pressure switch. Further,fitting the restrictor 25 to the air exhaust aperture 24 makes possiblemore reliable prevention of the infiltration of rainwater, dirt or otherforeign matter.

In FIG. 3 is shown a second embodiment of the invention. In thisembodiment a ball cock B2 is mounted below the floor of a vehicle, notshown, in a manner such that exhaust aperture 24 is positioned in agenerally horizontal direction, i.e., at a side surface of ball cock B2.An L-shaped extension pipe 26 made of metal is screwed together, bymeans of a taper external thread 26 a provided at its base end portion,with a pipe connection 24 a (taper thread for a pipe) which is providedin the air exhaust aperture 24. The opening surface 26 c at the tip-endportion of the extension pipe 26, which is connected to theaforementioned base end portion via a bend portion 26 b, opens facingdownwards, but as long as it is positioned lower than the horizontaldirection, there is a set effect in respect to restricting theinfiltration of dirt or other foreign material.

A taper external thread 26 d is formed at the tip-end portion of theextension pipe 26, and a first taper internal thread 27 a of a pipeconnection 27 is screwed together with this taper external thread 26 d.Further, a restrictor 25 is screwed together with a second taperinternal thread 27 b of the pipe connection 27 by means of anouter-periphery taper external thread 25 a. With the ball cock B2, atthe time of air discharge, pressurized air is discharged to the exteriorvia the air exhaust aperture 24, extension pipe 26 and restrictor 25. Itis not always necessary to provide the restrictor 25, and if notprovided, the taper external thread 26 d and the pipe connection 27 areunnecessary.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the second embodiment of the inventionthat was shown in FIG. 2. In this case, the pipe connection 24 b at theinner periphery of the air exhaust aperture 24 is made a meter screw(female screw), a meter screw (male screw) 26 e is also used at the baseend portion of the extension pipe 26, and, if required, an O-ring 28 anda lock nut 29 are fixed to the ball cock B2 a at the outer-end portionof the air exhaust aperture 24.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the invention. The ball cock B3 ofthis embodiment is mounted below the floor of a railway vehicle (notshown) in a manner such that it is upside-down, i.e., such that the airexhaust aperture 24 is located at the top surface in the generallyvertical direction. In this case, a U-shaped extension pipe 31 made ofmetal is fitted by means of a taper internal thread 31 a at its base endportion to the pipe connection 24 a of the air exhaust aperture 24, andthe opening surface 31 c of the extension pipe 31, which is connectedaforementioned base end portion via a bend portion 31 b, opens facingdownwards. Although a restrictor 25 is not fitted in this embodiment,the arrangement may also be that a restrictor 25 is fitted to thetip-end portion of the extension pipe 31 by means of a pipe connection27, as in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention. In this case, a ballcock B4 is mounted in an upside-down attitude below the floor of arailway vehicle, and the base end portion 32 a of a U-shaped extensionpipe 32 made of hard rubber is press-fitted against the inner peripheralsurface of an air exhaust aperture 33 which serves jointly as a pipeconnection. The opening surface 32 c at the tip-end portion of anextension pipe 32, which is connected to the abovementioned base endportion via a bend portion 32 b, opens downwards. If the ball cock B4 ismounted below the floor of a railway vehicle in a manner that the airexhaust aperture 33 is directed in a horizontal direction, as in thesecond embodiment described previously, the extension pipe 32 can be cutat the cutting line A—A indicated by the chain-dot line and be used asan L-shaped extension pipe.

Although, in each of the embodiments described above, it was madepossible to connect only the secondary-side opening 6 to the air exhaustaperture 24 via the side aperture 23 and the inner aperture 3 by makingthe valve body 15 free to rotate 90 degrees about the vertical axis, thearrangement may also be made such that both the primary-side opening 5and the secondary-side opening 6 can be connected to the air exhaustaperture 24 via the side aperture 23 and inner aperture 3 and air can bedischarged from both the primary-side opening 5 and the secondary-sideopening 6 by making the valve body 15 free to rotate 90 degrees aboutthe vertical axis.

As described above, the railway vehicle ball cock of the firstembodiment of the invention is one which comprises a main bodypossessing a primary-side opening and a secondary-side opening whichface one another and an air exhaust aperture which is formed betweenthese openings. There is a ball-shaped valve body which is rotatablyprovided inside this main body and in which there is formed acommunication aperture which connects the primary-side opening and thesecondary-side opening and a side aperture which, consequent to itsrotation, connects the air exhaust aperture and either the primary-sideopening or the secondary-side opening. There is formed in the mainbody's air exhaust aperture a pipe connection to which can be connectedan extension pipe that forms a bend portion which causes its openingsurface to be positioned lower than a generally horizontal directionwhen, in accordance with the state in which the main body is fitted to arailway vehicle, its air exhaust aperture is positioned upwardly of ahorizontal direction. Therefore, when the ball cock is mounted in amanner such that the air exhaust aperture is positioned upwardly of ageneral horizontal direction, the opening surface of the extension pipecan be positioned lower than this horizontal direction by connecting theextension pipe to the pipe connection of the air exhaust aperture. As aresult, regardless of the ball cock's mounting attitude relative to thevehicle, there is less infiltration of rainwater, dirt or other foreignmaterial via the air exhaust aperture and thus it is more difficult forproblems that could damage the ball cock to occur.

Since the railway vehicle ball cock of the second embodiment of theinvention is one in which, the pipe connection is formed by a taper withpipe threads, connection of the extension pipe to the pipe connectioncan be effected more surely and firmly by connecting to the pipeconnection the taper thread which is formed at the end portion of theextension pipe.

The ball cock for a railway vehicle in a third embodiment is one inwhich the extension pipe possesses an L-shaped extension pipe which canbe fitted when the air exhaust aperture is positioned in a generallyhorizontal direction and a U-shaped extension pipe which can be fittedwhen the air exhaust aperture is positioned at the upper surface in thegenerally vertical direction. Therefore, by using extension pipes whichhave different shapes in accordance with the position of the air exhaustaperture, it is possible to position the extension pipe opening lowerthan the horizontal direction, regardless of what the air exhaustaperture's position is.

In a fourth embodiment, the railway vehicle ball cock is one in whichthe extension pipe is formed to a U-shape with hard rubber, and aportion thereof can be cut off to form an L-shaped extension pipe. Thatis, only one type of U-shaped element formed from hard rubber isprepared for the extension pipe. If the air exhaust aperture is locatedat the top of the ball cock, this U-shaped extension pipe is used justas it is. However, if the air exhaust aperture is positioned in thehorizontal direction, an L-shaped extension pipe can be produced bycutting the U-shaped extension pipe in two at a generally centrallocation and this can be connected to the air exhaust aperture. Thereis, therefore, the advantage that the extension pipe specification canbe unified as a single form of specification and the cost of theextension pipe manufacture can be reduced.

Since the railway ball cock of the fifth embodiment is one in which arestriction passage is formed in the main body's air exhaust aperture orin the extension pipe, the speed of discharge of air from the airexhaust aperture is reduced and sharp discharge of air from air pipingis suppressed, and as a result it is easy to ascertain the switchingpressure of a pressure switch which is mounted on the air piping.

It will be understood that various alterations and changes may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof the subject invention. Therefore, it will be appreciated that certainmodifications, ramifications, and equivalents will be readily apparentto persons skilled in the art, and accordingly, it is understood thatthe present invention should not be limited to the exact embodimentsshown and described, but should be accorded the full scope andprotection of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A ball cock valve for a railway vehicle, said ball cockvalve comprises: (a) a main body portion possessing a primary-sideopening and a secondary-side opening which face one another and an airexhaust aperture formed between said primary-side opening and saidsecondary-side opening, said air exhaust aperture being threaded; (b) aball-shaped valve body rotatably disposed inside a cavity formed in saidmain body portion, said ball-shaped valve body having a communicationaperture formed therein which connects said primary-side opening andsaid secondary-side opening and a side aperture which, consequent to itsrotation, connects said air exhaust aperture and one of saidprimary-side opening and said secondary-side opening; and (c) anextension pipe having a threaded first end connected at said first endthereof to said air exhaust aperture, said extension pipe having arestrictor means connected to a second end thereof.
 2. A ball cock valvefor a railway vehicle, according to claim 1, wherein said extension pipeis selected from a group consisting of metal, plastic and hard rubber.3. A ball cock valve for a railway vehicle, according to claim 2,wherein said extension pipe is metal.
 4. A ball cock valve for a railwayvehicle, according to claim 3, wherein said extension pipe issubstantially L-shaped when said air exhaust aperture is positioned in agenerally horizontal direction.
 5. A ball cock valve for a railwayvehicle, according to claim 3, wherein said extension pipe is generallyU-shaped when said air exhaust aperture is positioned in a generallyvertical direction at an upper surface of said main body portion.
 6. Aball cock valve for a railway vehicle, according to claim 1, whereinsaid extension pipe is substantially L-shaped when said air exhaustaperture is positioned in a generally horizontal direction.
 7. A ballcock valve for a railway vehicle, according to claim 1, wherein saidextension pipe is generally U-shaped when said air exhaust aperture ispositioned in a generally vertical direction at an upper surface of saidmain body portion.
 8. A ball cock valve for a railway vehicle, accordingto claim 1, wherein said extension pipe is substantially L-shaped whensaid air exhaust aperture is positioned in a generally horizontaldirection.
 9. A ball cock valve for a railway vehicle, according toclaim 1, wherein said extension pipe is generally U-shaped when said airexhaust aperture is positioned in a generally vertical direction at anupper surface of said main body portion.
 10. A ball cock valve for arailway vehicle, according to claim 1, wherein said restrictor means isthreadably connected to said second end of said extension pipe.